Berlin - Efforts to form a three-way
coalition government have failed, Chancellor Angela Merkel said
on Monday, pitching Germany into its worst political crisis for
decades, raising the prospect of new elections and casting doubt
over her future.
The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) withdrew from talks
after more than four weeks of fruitless negotiations with
Merkel's conservative bloc and the environmentalist Greens,
saying there was not enough common ground.
With German leadership seen as crucial for a European Union
grappling with governance reform and Britain's impending exit,
FDP leader Christian Lindner's announcement that he was pulling
out spooked investors and sent the euro falling.
A tired-looking Merkel said she would stay on as acting
chancellor and consult President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on how
to move forward. A deal had been within reach, she said.
With the Social Democrats (SPD) sticking on Monday to their
pledge after losses in a September election not to go back into
a Merkel-led "grand coalition" of centre-left and centre-right,
the most likely option looked to be new elections.
Steinmeier, who in the ordinary course of events is meant to
play a non-partisan role above the cut-and-thrust of party
politics, was due to give a statement at 1330 GMT.
"It is a day of deep reflection on how to go forward in
Germany," Merkel told reporters. "As chancellor, I will do
everything to ensure that this country is well managed in the
difficult weeks to come.
The failure of coalition talks is unprecedented in Germany's
post-war history, and was likened by newsmagazine Der Spiegel to
the shock election of U.S. President Donald Trump or Britain's
referendum vote to leave the EU - moments when countries cast
aside reputations for stability built up over decades.
The collapse came as a surprise since the main sticking
points - immigration and climate change policy - were not seen
as FDP signature issues.
Green politician Michael Kellner accused Lindner of "bad
theatrics", one of many who suggested the liberal, pro-business
party had never been serious about negotiating.
"It is better not to rule than to rule the wrong way.
Goodbye!" Lindner said, announcing his withdrawal in the small
hours, blaming the breakdown on a lack of progress on education
and tax policy - areas that had been seen as less contentious.
"Christian 'Better no deal than a bad deal' Lindner -
Germany's Boris Johnson," wrote political commentator Max
Steinbeis on Facebook, comparing Lindner to the British foreign
minister and Brexit campaigner who is widely seen by Germany's
political class as a dangerous and heedless loose cannon.
UNAPPEALING OPTIONS
Germany now faces unappealing options not experienced in
Germany's post-World War Two era: Merkel forms a minority
government, or the president calls a new election if no
government is formed.
The main parties fear that another election so soon would
let the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD)
party add to the 13 percent of votes it secured in September,
when it entered parliament for the first time. Polls suggest
repeat elections would return a similarly fragmented parliament.
The SPD, which came second in the Sept. 24 election, said on
Monday it had no wish to rejoin Merkel in a grand coalition and
that voters should be given a say.
"We are not afraid of repeat elections. In such a situation,
the ... voters must reassess what is going on," SPD leader
Martin Schulz told a news conference. He added that a minority
government was not a practical option in Germany.
Schulz also said he would meet Steinmeier and that Merkel
had yet to contact him.
Some still believe that the SPD could change its mind,
perhaps under pressure from Steinmeier, himself a former SPD
foreign minister who served under Merkel.
Others felt the FDP could yet be prevailed upon to return to
the negotiating table. The price for either party to change its
mind could be the departure of Merkel, who for 12 years has been
a symbol of German stability, leading Europe through the euro
zone crisis.
Greens leader Kathrin Goering-Eckardt said she expected
fresh elections.
Merkel was weakened by the September election as voters
angry with her decision in 2015 to open the borders to more than
a million asylum seekers punished her conservatives by voting
for the AfD.
AfD politician Beatrix von Storch called the coalition talks
collapse a success for her party, saying other parties' "fear of
the AfD" had forced them to drive a hard bargain with the
left-leaning Greens, who are dovish on immigration.
AfD leader Alexander Gauland demanded Merkel's resignation.
The inability to form a government caused disquiet elsewhere
in Europe, not least because of the implications for the euro
zone reforms championed by French President Emmanuel Macron and
the negotiations over Britain's departure from the EU.
"It's not in our interests that the process freezes up,"
Macron told reporters in Paris, adding that he had spoken with
Merkel shortly after the failure of talks.
In Brussels, Dutch foreign minister Halbe Zijlstra described
the collapse as "bad news for Europe".